GW2: Guide to Bazaar of the Four Winds (Spoiler-Free)

The folks over at ArenaNet have put together a “spoiler-free” guide to their new content, including several tips for each of the content locations! Definitely worth a look as this just launched. You can check out the original article over here.

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A Guide to Bazaar of the Four Winds

Welcome to our newest release, the Bazaar of the Four Winds! You may be wondering what there is to do and how to get around, so what follows is a short guide to point you in the right direction.

Spoiler-free guide

When you log in to Guild Wars 2, you’ll receive a mail detailing the current situation. Be sure to press the “Show me” button at the bottom of the mail to get pointed in the right direction.

To get to the Bazaar, head to Lion’s Arch and look for the Labyrinthine Cliffs Transport Facilitator. He is marked on the map with a gold star and is in the same spot that was used to boat players over to Southsun Cove before the asura portal was finished.

Once you arrive in the Labyrinthine Cliffs, you can travel through the Bazaar up to the cliff peaks to reach the Zephyr Sanctum. However, you will need to utilize the three Aspect skills that are available in the map to make it to the top. You can acquire these skills by collecting the Aspect Crystals located next to Sun, Wind, or Lightning Adepts or sprinkled throughout the map.

What are Aspect skills?

The citizens of the Zephyr Sanctum (“Zephyrites,” as they call themselves) have developed a unique understanding of wind, lightning, and the sun. They have learned how to utilize these Aspects in their daily lives. By imbuing crystals with the energy of the Aspects, the Zephyrites are able to share a taste of this knowledge with others.

In order to ease the paths of weary travelers, the Zephyrites have scattered these Aspect Crystals throughout the Labyrinthine Cliffs while they are docked to trade goods at the Bazaar of the Four Winds. Walking over an Aspect Crystal will grant you 10 charges of a movement skill associate with that aspect.

Wind Crystals have a blue glow and allow you to leap to new heights! Sun Crystals glow orange and grant bursts of speed. Lightning Crystals are purple and allow you to launch yourself across wide gaps and leap with precision.

A few tips:

Using the Sun and Wind Aspect skills together allows you to perform a leaping dash. Players who master this technique will discover many shortcuts and beautiful views along the cliffside.

When you gain the Aspect of Lightning, the skill is ground targetable. However, as you traverse the cliffs, you may notice purple tether points along the way. Using the Lightning skill near these will automatically launch you to a matching tether point with no additional targeting required.

The Zephyrites have thoughtfully painted symbols on the rocks and walkways to provide hints regarding what Aspect must be used to overcome nearby obstacles.

What can I do at the bazaar?

Lessons from the Sky

The Zephyrites have scattered Sky Crystals amongst the rocky nooks and crannies of the Labyrinthine Cliffs. Players can utilize the three Aspect skills to reach these locations and prove that they are as nimble as any Zephyrite.

A few tips:

The Zephyrites have placed over 50 Sky Crystals in the area, but you need to find only 40 to earn your reward.

If you have not activated a Sky Crystal, its name will be visible if you press your Control key. Once you have activated one, the name will no longer be visible. Use this to quickly scan an area for new crystals or to remember if you have gotten a crystal before.

Players can earn a model of the Zephyr Sanctum by completing the Lessons from the Sky achievement. When you double-click the item in your inventory, the model will appear. You can then interact with it to view a cinematic of the Zephyr Sanctum. Please note that you can only use this item in cities.

Sanctum Sprint

Sanctum Sprint, a new racing activity that takes place in the crags and crevices near the Labyrinthine Cliffs, is now available. This activity will only be available for this release, but may return in the future.

Players must use the three Aspect skills to complete the course and reach the top. There are also offensive and defensive boosts to be found and used against your opponents.

To enter the activity, you must talk to the Aspect Master, who is standing near the entrance to Zephyr Sanctum at the top of the Labyrinthine cliffs.

A few tips:

In the Sanctum Sprint, your Aspect movement skills can be empowered by running over Aspect Crystals. You will often need the powered-up version to access the quickest route through the track.

Scattered about the track are blue crystals that boost endurance as well as red crystals that grant swiftness and vigor.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t finish first. Everyone who crosses the finish line before the time limit will earn a chance to win a tradable Aspect Back Item from the chest that appears!

Belcher’s Bluff

Stop by the tavern on your way to the top of the Bazaar and you’ll meet Poyaqui, leader of the mysterious Order of Om – a group of competitive drinkers whose drink of choice is Omnomberry juice.

Any chef worth their salt knows that cooking Omnomberries removes the vile taste as well as nearly all harmful effects, but these drinkers actually chill the stuff so they can find out who can drink the most in a new permanent activity called Belcher’s Bluff.

In order to challenge Poyaqui to a game of Belcher’s Bluff, you must first defeat the 5 other members of the Order of Om. Poyaqui will send you a mail detailing their exact locations if you attempt to challenge him.

The nearby Bartender also sells Belcher’s Bluff kits, which allow you to challenge other players to drinking matches. In fact, all bartenders in Tyria should now offer these kits to interested parties.

A few tips:

Each member of the Order of Om uses a unique signature skill that they have developed. By defeating them, you can learn these extra skills, which may give you just the edge you need against Poyaqui or other players.

Icons will also appear above the heads of players indicating what action they took. Also pay attention to your opponent’s health bar – whether it rises, falls or stays the same should indicate which skills they are using, allowing you to predict what they are going to do next.

Trade opportunities!

Merchants have trekked many miles to bring bulk orders of cooking ingredients from all over Tyria to the bazaar. It’s a one-stop cooking shop!

The Zephyrites are looking to stock up on supplies that can’t be found while flying around in their Sanctum. You can find them near the repair merchant on your map. They are willing to take various resources (such as ore, wood, candy and more) in trade for Zephyr Sanctum supply boxes. These supply boxes contain new items including recipes for weapons and armor with a new stat combination.

Also located by the repair merchant is a Fortune Scrap Vendor, who will trade Fortune Scraps for unique Zephyrite items, including Zephyrite Aspect Helms and Zephyrite Aspect Backpacks.

A few tips:

Fortune Scraps can be found in Kite Fortunes, which will drop off all creatures in the game. Each Kite Fortune yields at least one fortune scrap and also provides a 10 minute random buff that stacks duration. Kite Fortunes are also being sold in bulk through the Black Lion Trading Company.

What can I do in the open world?

Kite Baskets

The Zephyrites are launching numerous kite baskets, and they are landing nearly everywhere in Tyria! Find these kite baskets in all explorable areas (except for Orr) for a chance at quartz (a new resource used for crafting), new armor and weapon recipes and kite fortunes.

A few tips:

Each kite basket will yield two supply bags that everyone can interact with. However you will only be able to grab supplies from a specific location once per day. Plan a route through Tyria to make the most of your basket hunt!

You can also find Quartz nodes in the Labyrinthine cliffs, and completing the Meta achievement will allow you to receive a personal quartz node in your home instance, so you will never run dry, even after the Sanctum departs.

Stolen Kite Baskets

Thieving skritt have pilfered a handful of Kite Baskets from the Sanctum. Players can locate these at the top of several jumping puzzles throughout Tyria and open them for extra rewards.

One Response to GW2: Guide to Bazaar of the Four Winds (Spoiler-Free)

I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your
blog? Its very well written; I love what youve
got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of
content so people could connect with it better.

Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2 images.
Maybe you could space it out better?